Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 18 days without holding a formal press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The delay has drawn increasing criticism, particularly from her Republican opponents and media members, who are questioning her reluctance to engage directly with the press.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) highlighted the issue in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, “It’s been 18 days and Kamala Harris is still not taking questions from the media or voters. Regardless of who you support, a terrible precedent has been set.”
Harris became the de facto Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden endorsed her on July 21, following his decision to drop out of the race. While she has been active on the campaign trail and made informal remarks to reporters, she has yet to hold a formal press conference or participate in a wide-ranging interview since officially clinching the nomination.
Adding to the criticism, Harris was notably absent from the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where former President Donald Trump made headlines with a contentious Q&A session. Although there is speculation she may make a future appearance, her absence has not gone unnoticed.
DAY 18: Kamala hasn't done a single interview or a single press conference since she forced Biden off the ticket. pic.twitter.com/39TgED5LsY
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 8, 2024
Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled to hold a news conference on Thursday from Mar-a-Lago, further emphasizing the contrast between the two campaigns’ approaches to media engagement.
Harris recently made headlines by selecting Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, but the duo has yet to be questioned formally in interviews or press conferences. This has caught the attention of GOP vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, who has called on the media to press Harris for answers.
During a Wednesday press conference in Detroit, Vance urged reporters to “show a little bit of self-awareness” and called on Harris to “do the job of a presidential candidate” by engaging with the press. “Until she does, you guys have got to stop giving her a honeymoon and pretending that she is something she isn’t,” Vance stated.
Benjy Sarlin, Washington Bureau Chief at Semafor, echoed the sentiment, noting that with Trump and Vance being readily available to the press, it’s time for Harris to follow suit. “Trump is holding a presser today, we interviewed him last week and Vance yesterday, and Vance is taking open press questions. Time’s just about up on Harris to avoid this becoming a thing,” Sarlin wrote.
Harris’s elusive approach has even led The New York Times to publish excerpts from an interview she conducted last year, in an attempt to gauge how her responses hold up now. Some critics have compared her strategy to what was derisively referred to as Biden’s “basement” approach during the 2020 campaign.
The Trump War Room, a campaign account with over two million followers on X, has drawn attention to Harris “hiding from the media.” Similarly, National Review senior writer Noah Rothman posed the question on social media, “When is Kamala Harris going to hold a press conference?”
Rothman argued that a press conference is the most revealing form of exposure for a candidate and that Harris should not shy away from it. “The most revealing exposure to which a candidate can submit is a prolonged press conference — and that’s precisely what Harris needs to do,” he wrote.
Tim Graham, executive editor of NewsBusters, expressed skepticism that Harris would depart from Biden’s 2020 playbook, in which he was criticized for avoiding press conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Kamala Harris should absolutely hold a press conference,” Graham told Fox News Digital. “But we cannot expect her to break from Biden’s serial avoidance of press conferences.”
Graham also noted the contrast between Trump’s willingness to engage with often-hostile media outlets and Harris’s reluctance to speak to generally favorable press. “Either they think the press can never be servile enough or they are projecting a complete lack of confidence in their efforts to put complete sentences together,” he added.
Oliver Knox, senior national correspondent at U.S. News & World Report, agreed that Harris should face the press. “Of course Harris should take questions from the press,” he wrote. Knox pointed out that while a press conference may be “high-risk, low-reward” for Harris and Walz, avoiding one could ultimately make future engagements more challenging.
As the Democratic National Convention approaches, set to begin on August 19 in Chicago, the pressure on Harris to address the media formally is likely to intensify. The Harris campaign has yet to respond to requests for comment.